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1938 Crosby Cr 4, 1/72
Here we have the Crosby CR 4 racing plane by Fiddler's Green. To keep the model in line with my other airplanes, I reduced it at printing to 1/72 scale. This makes for a very small model with a wing span of only 2 11/16 inches (note photo 1). The model is marketed by FG as the CR 3 but as designed, it really isn't a replica of either the CR 3 or the CR 4. It has attributes of both, making it sort of a CR 3.5 . Modifications to the model to make it more accurate include blackening the #52s on the fuselage, the addition of the Aero ITI logo to the tail (correct for 1938), and affixing a full bubble canopy made from card stock, painted with acrylics, and finished with a few applications of brush on glosscoat. Using Photoshop, I recolored the "inside" of the landing gear bays zinc chromate green. A pitot tube, tail skid, and fuel tank vent complete the model.
Despite being plagued with mechanical problems, Harry Crosby's racers had great potential and were way ahead of their time, featuring all aluminum construction at a time when many of his competitors were flying airplanes built primarily of plywood and canvas. The remains of the CR 4 were located in 1990 on private property in North Carolina, dangerously close to being sold as scrap metal. Some parts were stored in an old school bus, and others were just discarded in the woods. Happily, the airplane has now been restored for static display. A fascinating article and additional pictures can be found here The 1938 Crosby CR-4 racer This is the first airplane model I have built that wasn't armed with machine guns, and I really enjoyed it. I've ordered a bunch more 1930's racers (FG and Daisey Designs), and look forward to starting the next one soon. Pictures are of the usual poor quality - my apologies. I ran out of ink, but I'll soon have this baby mounted on a base, and will update then with a final few photos.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
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#2
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Another man that ranks right up there with PaperKosmonaut. I don't know how you guys can build so small. Very nice build though, very clean for being so small.
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Take the red pill and see how deep the rabbit hole goes. |
#3
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Nice work, Don. I always like to see these National Air Racers.
Don |
#4
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Thanks for your kind words fellas. I didn't realize how small this model was going to be in 1/72 scale until I printed it out. I thought I made a math error, and had to recheck myself. Many of these early racers were really compact. I'm working on the Daisey Designs Wittman Bonzo now - also in 1/72 scale. It had a less refined appearance than the CR 4, but was a better performer.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. Last edited by rockpaperscissor; 11-08-2011 at 04:05 PM. Reason: typo |
#5
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Here's a final shot of the Crosby CR4 on it's base. I've gotta learn how to use my better camera.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
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#6
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Don -
Nice work on the CR-4! Got a present for ya. Almost-complete files for the Wittman "Chief" in 1/24. I'm releasing some of my projects under Creative Commons so maybe someone gets some use out of them. See 1935 Wittman "Chief" by sola_technical - Thingiverse. |
#7
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Nice work on this one Don. I always like how you "present" the model with the base and data.
About the camera ... hummm ... I think I have heard that before
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Mate Amargo models. |
#8
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Thanks for your comments fellas. Alcides, I think I'll make learning how to use my digital Canon a New Year's resolution - maybe then I'll actually do it. There are a couple of more photos of the finished/based model over at the Fiddler's Green forum. For some reason I couldn't load all the pictures here. I got a file too large error on 2 of the 3 photos. nx13688, I've downloaded the Chief and it looks awesome. Thank you very much! I'm about midway thru building the Wittman Bonzo that I ordered from Daisey Designs about a month ago. It's a sweet kit and going together flawlessly. I reduced it to 1/72 scale, so it's another tiny model. I didn't realize how small these early racing planes were until I printed out the 1/72 Crosby.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
#9
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Very nice Dom great wok in FG model... Best regards!
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#10
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Great job, Don. The photos look fine, as well. I, too, an in awe of those who produce such nice small models. Looking forward to seeing more.
Garland |
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